ARB fridge question

[hidesertwheelin]

I found a ARB 50 qt for sale locally. Said it's a year old. What is a decent price to pay for a used one? Also, I have a family of 4 (2 adults, a 7 yr old, and a 2 yr old), it this big enough for us? I've never seen any of these fridges in person, so I'm not sure how big they are size wise. It would be going in a Suburban, so I would have tons of room, so size isn't a problem.

 

[PIC4GOD]

Hi hidesertwheelin,

I think your use of a 50 qt fridge really depends on what you need to cool. My girlfriend and I can go on a week trip with everything we need refrigerated before we have to restock. We usually bring a small container of milk, have at least a couple of bottles of water, various meats to be cooked, etc. I think a lot of it depends on your needs and how you pack the fridge. We pack it pretty tight for the week. If you pack the way we do you might need the next capacity up but if you are just doing weekend trips you would be fine. All I'll say is that the fridge is one of the best overland purchases I've made for convenience.

 

[4x4junkie]

Also, I have a family of 4 (2 adults, a 7 yr old, and a 2 yr old), it this big enough for us?

Depends on what & how much stuff you bring, and how long your typical trip is.

I have a 43 qt Edgestar fridge that's been sufficient room for two people for 10-14 days... It does take a bit of thought while packing (nestling) everything in place, but can be done (repackaging items from bulky packaging into ziploc baggies helps). Certainly you can't pack your entire beer and/or soda stash in it though, but it is possible to keep maybe 4 cans/bottles in there and feed new ones in as you drink the cold ones (or you could also bring a separate cooler w/ice for your chilled nonperishables).

Stuff I typically pack in the fridge for a week or longer trip (just to give you some idea):
2-3lbs hamburger/hamburger patties
2-3lbs steaks
1lb chicken
1-2 pkgs hot dogs
3-4lbs bacon & sausage
3 doz eggs
1-2lbs sandwich (lunch) meat
1lb sliced cheeses
3 sticks butter
Mayo (small squeeze-type bottle)
2 cartons milk (½ gallon ea)
1 large (6.8 oz) Hershey Special Dark bar


Stuff like ketchup, mustard, and taco sauce I don't pack in the fridge... Instead I grab a handful of the little packets from various fast-food places which don't need to be refrigerated. Occasionally I'll find mayo packets too (this will save the bottle of mayo in the fridge), though finding mayo packets isn't as easy as the others. Apples, nectarines, tomatoes, etc. ride separate also.

 

[Power Wagon Family]

I guess I'm different then the other posters lol I had a ARB 50qt frig and found it tight on room for 3-4 day trips with a family of four. I sold that frig with my jeep, two days ago I just bought a new frig and went with the ARB 63qt. We would put food in the frig and always took a ice chest for drinks (beer and kids drinks). I would not plan on putting all your drinks and food in the frig. By the time you load everything for 3 meals a day x 3 days I might be able to stash a few drinks in it but that's it. As for price I think you can get the 50qt new for around 800$ shipped so a year old? Maybe 600$. I would make sure you test it well also before you buy it. Just my 2 cents.

 

[NatersXJ6]

I would agree that maybe 600 is a good price. 700 is probably even fair. They don't come up used for sale often. It is plenty large as long as you only try to cool 2 or 3 days of drinks at a time.

 

[hidesertwheelin]

Well I was texting with the seller, and then he stopped responding. Oh well.

 

[402xjeeper]

I would agree that maybe 600 is a good price. 700 is probably even fair. They don't come up used for sale often. It is plenty large as long as you only try to cool 2 or 3 days of drinks at a time.

I have an arb 63 quart fridge that has been running continuously for the past year, no problems but a broken latch replaced under warranty. I would recommend that you buy new just for the 2 year arb warranty. The used ones are not cheap enough.

 

[moodywizard]

I have an arb50qt and family of three including me. One thing about a fridge vs a cooler, you can refill with beer and water as needed! I usually only have a few beers, water at a time. Every time I take one out I put another one in. This keeps more room for edibles. With the FJ I dont have any room for anything bigger, if you have room though why not get the bigger one.

edit: Yes the used ones are often ridiculous, when there's a good deal it is gone in a second. I bought mine new..

 

[Honu]

when we had time to do 2-3 weeks trips with family of 4 we had a 60 for fridge and used a 45 for freezer was awesome combo
when we do 3 day or so trips now just the 45 is tight but we use a cooler often along with it
but we dont fridge things that do not need it so no soft drinks beers kinda thing just the food often we vacum pack and lay flat our dinners and they pack vertically
sometimes we can freeze our dinners again in vac pack flat bags and then put in the regular cooler they will start to thaw out in a few days and as room clears in the fridge we can put them in there extending a small fridge out quite a bit with some planning

in our rig we would have no room for a larger fridge and the cooler is something the kids can get in and out of for juice boxes and such and by the 3rd day 4th night our cooler is done cooling